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| “St. Philip Neri" artist and date are UNKNOWN |
In other regions of the world
the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Reading 1: 1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12
Beloved:
Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk
so that through it you may grow into salvation,
for you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were no people
but now you are God’s people;
you had not received mercy
but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners
to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul.
Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles,
so that if they speak of you as evildoers,
they may observe your good works
and glorify God on the day of visitation.
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Commentary on 1 Pt 2:2-5, 9-12
St. Peter uses
Old Testament imagery to encourage his audience. He begins with, “…you have
tasted that the Lord is good,” borrowed from Psalm
34:8, and continues with the cornerstone
image from Isaiah
28:16. He tells them to
simply follow God’s call, letting themselves be built (not an active image but
passive) into what God wishes.
The prerogatives
of ancient Israel mentioned here are now more fully and fittingly applied to
the Christian people: "a chosen race" (cf Isaiah
43:20-21) indicates their
divine election (Ephesians 1:4-6); "a royal priesthood" (cf Exodus
19:6) to serve and
worship God in Christ, thus continuing the priestly functions of his life,
passion, and resurrection; "a holy nation" (Exodus
19:6) reserved for God, a
people he claims for his own (cf Malachi
3:17) in virtue of their
baptism into his death and resurrection. This transcends all natural and
national divisions and unites the people into one community to glorify the one
who led them from the darkness of paganism to the light of faith in Christ.
From being "no people" deprived of all mercy, they have become the
very people of God, the chosen recipients of his mercy (cf Hosea
1:9;2:23).[4]
CCC: 1 Pt
2:1-10 2769; 1 Pt 2:4-5 1141, 1179; 1 Pt 2:4 552; 1 Pt 2:5 756, 901, 1268, 1330, 1546; 1 Pt 2:9 709, 782, 803, 1141, 1268, 1546
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 100:2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2c) Come with joy into the presence of the
Lord.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with
joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the Lord is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with
joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him;
bless his name.
R. Come with
joy into the presence of the Lord.
The Lord is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with
joy into the presence of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 100:2, 3, 4, 5
Psalm 100 is a communal
song of thanksgiving. In this selection the psalmist gives thanks for God’s
favor and his unending support in all good things. It affirms God’s saving
grace given to his sons and daughters through all generations.
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Gospel: Mark 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on
me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.
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Commentary on Mk 10:46-52
In St. Mark’s story of the cure
of the blind man (see also Matthew 20:29-34 and Luke 18:35-43), it is
the way he addresses Jesus that becomes the focus. We are told he address him
as, “Son of David.” This is the messianic title applied by Jewish tradition to
the one who comes to “heal the blind and the lame and set the prisoners free”
(Isaiah 42;6-7). In
response to the blind man’s request, “Master, I want to see,” in an
almost casual way, Jesus tells him his faith has saved him and the blind man
sees. Not surprisingly the now sighted man follows Jesus.
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Homily:
What would we ask Jesus if we
were sitting beside the road when he came walking by? It is a good question to think about. In the case of the Gospel story, when Bartimaeus approached Jesus, is there anyone who could not have
known what he wanted? It was predictable
that when Jesus was asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man would answer: “Master, I want to
see.”
If we approached Jesus and he asked us the same question, what
would we want him to do for us? Notice,
he does not leave it open ended. We
cannot ask for some boon for another person, he asks specifically what he can
do for us. So, what would you like him
to do for you? Remember, he can do anything,
as long as we have faith in his identity, and the power that goes along with
it.
This is such a personal question that we will not try to go
further with it now by using examples.
We will however point out a few things.
First, as you are imagining yourself sitting there and Jesus is walking
by and asking you to come to him, understand that in his presence in the
Eucharist he is doing just that. Next,
because he is truly here in his glorified body and blood, he wants to give us
what we truly need. He loves us more
deeply than we can comprehend. So if we
ask, in faith, for some gift in our lives, as the blind man did, if our faith
is strong enough and the gift we ask for is requested with pure intent, it will
be given.
As we recall once more the story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus, let
us ask the Lord in prayer for what we truly want and need. Let us also pray that our faith is strong
enough to heal us of our inadequacies so that we might see as clearly as the one
who was blind.
Pax
[2]
The picture used is “St. Philip Neri, author and date are UNKNOWN
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on 1 Peter 1: 9-10
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